The present invention relates generally to parameter setting apparatus and methods for audio mixers, and more particularly to an improved display of a parameter setting screen on a display device.
Digital audio mixers have been known which convert an analog audio signal, input for each of a plurality of input channels, to a digital signal and they perform processing on the individual digital signals. Users of these digital audio mixers can each manually perform various operation related to mixing processing, using various operators provided on an operation panel (or mixing console), and a digital signal processing device (DSP) in the digital audio mixer performs mixing processing on input digital audio signals on the basis of the user operation. Further, in a particular type of digital audio mixer provided with a display, such as an LCD, provided on the operation panel, it is possible to make settings for the entire system, settings for each of various functions, etc., using a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display. Among examples of such a particular type of digital audio mixer is a digital audio mixer commercially available from the assignee of the instant application under a product name “PM5D”. The digital audio mixer “PM5D” is introduced in a website “http//www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/pa/english/mixers/PM5DE1.pdf”.
In the conventionally-known digital audio mixer introduced or disclosed in the website, the user can read out a window of a graphic equalizer function (hereinafter also referred to as “graphic EQ parameter screen”) onto the display and perform graphic EQ operation via the graphic EQ parameter screen. On the graphic EQ parameter screen, images of faders (i.e., fader images) are provided in corresponding relation to a plurality of frequency bands handled by the graphic EQ (a total of 31 (thirty one) frequency bands are handled in the audio mixer disclosed in the website), and the fader images corresponding to all of the frequency bands handled by the graphic EQ are displayed together in parallel on the single screen. The user can operate any of the fader images on the displayed screen to increase or decrease a level (sound volume) of the frequency band corresponding to the operated fader image. Desired eight of the plurality of frequency bands can be assigned to eight physical faders provided on the operation of the audio mixer, so that the user can perform manual operation on the bands thus assigned to the physical faders.
More specifically, the frequency bands are assigned to the physical faders in the following manner. Namely, the plurality of frequency bands are divided into a plurality of (e.g., six) groups, eight frequency bands per group, and images of switches for selecting a desired one of the groups (i.e., switch images for assigning the frequency bands to the physical faders). More specifically, the user can operate the switch image corresponding to a desired one of the groups and thereby assign the eight frequency bands, belonging to the desired group, to the eight physical faders. The fader images of the eight frequency bands, belonging to the group corresponding to the operated switch image, are each changed into a different display color from the other fader images, by which it can be indicated that these eight frequency bands are currently assigned to the physical faders.
Further, the eight frequency bands belonging to each of the groups are a set of eight consecutive frequency bands. Combining these consecutive frequency bands into each of the groups can contribute to an enhanced convenience for the user in operating the EQ. Further, the grouping is made such that, for every two groups whose respective ranges of the frequency bands adjoin each other, respective adjoining portions of the frequency bands, belonging to the two groups, overlap each other.
However, with the graphic EQ parameter screen of the conventionally-known audio mixer, it tends to be difficult to recognize correspondency between the groups and the frequency band ranges belonging to the groups. Therefore, the user of the audio mixer would often suffer from poor visibility, for example, as to which of the groups corresponds to which of ranges of the displayed fader images and as to correspondency between the frequency band range currently assigned to the physical faders and the fader images.